Automated Competition Entries - Compers Unite!

lindens

jdsaint wrote: »

And moving to Facebook is another way!

Jason

Depends - people have cheated in this way when a winner is announced and a different person creates a new FB ID in the winners name and claims the prize!

hamsterfan1

the dailies run by magazines where you have to opt in or out of offers are annoying but they can't receive automated entries, can they?

jdsaint

people have cheated in this way when a winner is announced

true.. but if a promoter runs a comp via FB guidelines and via an app then this shouldn't be an issue as they'd collect the winner's email.

the dailies run by magazines where you have to opt in or out of offers are annoying but they can't receive automated entries, can they?

From what i've seen these services don't tend to target the daily entry comps.

HTH

Jason

clairecymru

The web development company that my husband works for is often asked to devise forms which have an invisible field, so when a person fills out the form it field would be blank but an automated form filler would fill that field in, so the person receiving the form knows that it was automated.

I wonder whether form fillers such a roboform would fill these blank fields in.

Treacle1983

clairecymru wrote: »

The web development company that my husband works for is often asked to devise forms which have an invisible field, so when a person fills out the form it field would be blank but an automated form filler would fill that field in, so the person receiving the form knows that it was automated.

I wonder whether form fillers such a roboform would fill these blank fields in.

I don't see in the harm in things such as roboform - I use it as I have very bad joints due to a disability.

I would actually be quite annoyed if my entries were excluded due to using something to make it easier for me to fill in forms.

clairecymru

I agree with you Treacke1983 and I use 1password myself. Its just when my husband said to me that my entries may be invalid if I had filled out a form like the ones he devises for companies it worried me.

ehlittleone

To Jason - is there anything I/compers can do to help you?

jdsaint

To Jason - is there anything I/compers can do to help you?

The main things that come to mind are just explain the issue to other compers (probably better than we have).

Plus, send emails/Facebook/Tweet to promoters to indicate they're being targeted or could be targeted - and their position.

If you have any ideas/suggestions that'd be cool.

Jason

Yuki60

shapala wrote: »

Interesting read. Good comments. Personally, I think the only way in which competitions are run fairly is if competitions are run on a strictly once-per-IP-address only. The only way to then circumvent this factor if entering using a different name/email/address is on a different computer.

On a slightly different note, I don't mean to stir the hornet's nest, but I find it amazing that certain people can win 30-odd competitions a month consistently. Last month, I entered just over 2000 competitions for the month with 8 wins, which is more than average for me in a month (my average was 5.2 wins per month). I only ever enter myself unless there's a competition I really want, so I'll ask my wife if she can enter it when it's convenient. Therefore, it can't surely be down to luck, rather that these people are entering other members in their household, frowned upon in almost all competition T&C's, or using several email accounts. Whether they use automated entry or not, something to me doesn't ring right with so many wins on a consistent basis. If competition sites adopted a one entry per IP address, it would help to level the playing field for everyone. That's my two cents.

You're only repeating what a lot are thinking but won't say. Absolutely not down to luck. Mathematically and statistically not only improbable but impossible.

mjm3346

Yuki60 wrote: »

You're only repeating what a lot are thinking but won't say. Absolutely not down to luck. Mathematically and statistically not only improbable but impossible.

However improbable it is random and not impossible.